opinions
editorial opinion
A fair trial
A historical battle between the First
Amendment freedom of the press and the
rights to due process of law and a fair trial
has raged for more than 200 years. It is
usually a distant, sensational battle that
often graces national news pages and never
hits quite so close to home.
But now, the battle has come to State
College.
The Centre Daily Times has filed a peti
tion that challenges the private filing of an
omnibus pre-trial motion by the defendant's
attorney in the Kinser murder case. Subra
manyam Vedam of State College is charged
with first degree murder in the 1980 gunshot
murder of Thomas E.P. Kinser.
In filing the petition, the newspaper
makes strong, valid contentions: The public
has the right to know the contents of the pre
trial criminal processes, and the media has
the right to inform them of what is happen
ing.
The paper's contentions ones that have
triumphed several times in history are
part of the press' performance of the watch
dog function. The CDT is correct in those
reader opinion
Debating skill
Poor Tony Lentz, assistant professor of
speech communication, was not able to dis
parage state Rep. Cunningham without point
ing out a positive aspect of that legislator;
namely, his debating skill.
Mrs. Rudy can't have ,it both ways. She
can't present herself as an "experienced"
candidate and then turn around and plead to
someone's chivalry on the grounds of inex
perience.
But what would best serve the voters? On
the floor of the House in Harrisburg, where
legislators have been known to come to physi
cal blows, do we need a representative who is
going to stand there wringing her hands,
crying, "You are intimidating me! "?
Either Mrs. Rudy is thoroughly experi
enced in political games in which case it
appears she is trying to put something over on
the voters; or, she is politically naive in
which case her inexperience would not be
beneficial to the voters of the area.
Loretta J. Willits, 11th-philosophy
Sept. 28
Vote!
A fundamental right we have as citizens of
a democracy is the right to vote for those
individuals who will represent us in govern
mental forums. Unfortunately the opportuni
ty to exercise this right has been neglected by
the vast majority of students at the Universi
ty.
The negligence of this right at a time
when critical decisions are being made that
affect both our short and long term interests
can only be regarded on non-prudent and
potentially injurious to student concerns be
cause those concerns ae nor being adequately
articulated.
In light of this, we, the members of the
Executive Council of the Undergraduate Stu
dent Government, strongly encourage stu
dents to REGISTER TO VOTE before the Oct.
The possibility of a new, exciting Dark Age
"The most merciful thing in all the world, I
think, is the inability of the human mind to
correlate all its contents. We live on a placid
island of ignorance in the midst of black
seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we
should voyage far.
The sciences, each straining in its own
direction, .have hitherto harMed us little;
but some day the piecing together of disso
ciated knowledge will open up such terrify
ing vistas of reality, and of our frightful
position therein, that we shall either go mad
from the revelation or flee from the deadly
light into the peace and safety of a new dark
age."
—H.P. Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu,"
Weird Tales, February, 1928.
According to retired University sociolog
ist Roy C. Buck, Lovecraft's vision of a new
Dark Age may be unfounded.
Buck foresees the next 25 years as a time
of nostalgia, romanticism, mystery and
perhaps a new synthesis of thought as revo
lutionary as the Renaissance. But before we
reap the benefits of a new way of thought we
may have to enter a new Dark Age a time
of transition rather than despair.
Although war, pestilence, disease and
gothic cathedrals are characteristic of the
Dark Ages, Buck thinks of that age as a good
epoch because it led to a rebirth in human
thought.
In between wars, the Dark Ages led to
innovations in science and rationalism that
• • •
actions. However, other important rights
are at stake.
All people have the individual right to the
due process of law, and the ultimate right to
a fair trial. To secure those rights and
possibly prevent their hindrance, Vedam's
attorney filed the pre-trial motion private
ly; Vedam's rights could be severely dam
aged if he has been given unfair or
sensationalized treatment in the media.
Legal technicalities aside, the battle
comes down to a difficult, basic choice:
whose interest is greater?
Even though the CDT takes a fair stand in
behalf of both its and society's interests, the
individual's right should be respected and
honored. Our Constitution provides de
fendants with certain protective rights to
ensure that they get a fair chance in the
legal process, if nothing more.
Vedam deserves at least that opportunity.
To deny him the right to due process is to
deprive him of a liberty that historically has
been upheld and viewed as a cornerstone of
the constitutional protections of the individ
ual.
4 deadline and TO VOTE on Nov. 2. Voting
does make a difference in the outcome of
elections and more importantly, it makes a
difference in how voters are viewed by their
representatives in government. •
In the most recent borough election'', for
example, a ten percent student voter turnout
could have substantially altered the election's
outcome. This coupled with the fact that most
state and federal representatives are acutely
aware of the voting habits of their constitu
ents tends to increase the importance of your
vote.
Your democratic rights are useless unless
they are exercised. Thus the impact of your
vote cannot be stressed enough. When you
realize the extent of the effect it has on your
life, it is more of an obligation than a right.
For voter registration information contact
the department of political affairs, 203 HUB,
or call 863-0295.
USG Executive Council
Sept. 24
Girls or women?
As if we had been visionaries or, perhaps,
seeing things a cohort and I, on Sunday,
prepared a design for the Men of State College
calendar to complement the Girls of Penn
State calendar. Tasteful poses aside, "girls,"
while all the world may consider the term
"girls" complimentary in suggesting youth
(that's complimentary?), the term also sug
gests immaturity and dependence (on men, of
course). On Sept. 20, The Daily Collegian
announced a Men of Penn State calendar. I
wondered, are these men so much older than
are the women, uh, girls?
State College: where the men are men and
the women are girls; why, then, not a com
panion calendar, Boys of Penn State?
But, seriously, folks, our choices for men of
State College are noticeably older, and (in
theory) at most, more mature than are the
"girls" of Penn State.
University President John W. Oswald is a
brought a balance to the world of magic and
spiritualism; Buck would like to see some of
that mystery restored in modern life.
"The bright new way of looking at the
world now is the restoration of some of this
subjective element.
"We're discovering that the human brain
Roy C. Buck
must for this calendar, as is Mayor Arnold
Addison. What local calendar could be com
plete without state Rep. Gregg L. Cunning
ham, perhaps posed defending a zygote from
a "girl's" abortion? Chief of Police Elwood G.
Williams, U.S. Rep. William F. Clinger, Dis
trict Magistrate Clifford Yorks, and, not to be
forgotten, Penn State's own (big "boy")
football Coach Joe Paterno.
Perhaps State College Municipal Council
member Fred Honsberger, or other male
council members, and the editor of the Centre
Daily Times, Bill Welch. Possibilities are
unlimited, and of course, would be "tasteful
ly" portrayed as each man represents a
particular time in his own inimitable way.
At an earlier time, as I walked past Sparks'
lawn, I heard a "girl" lament; she wouldn't
want a "girl" to run the country. "Girls"
bring to mind preschool children. I, also,
would not want a "girl" to run any country,
but I think the possiblity of a woman, qual
ified and able, would do at least as good, if not
a helluva lot better than do the men who seek
only to self-destruct. And you may have
noticed, their self-destruction will take up a
lot more space than the self.
Jean S. Guertler, graduate-higher education
Sept. 20
Foul!
Once again state Rep. Gregg Cunningham
has exhibited his terminal hoof-in-mouth ill
ness. Although any individual with a reasona
ble ability to wade through his verbal
excretement can see just who is campaigning
from the sewer, a few important points de
serve closer attention.
I'm sure his opponent, Mrs. Ruth Rudy,
appreciates Cunningham's "courtesy" in no
tifying her of alleged "reports" that she is
planning to attack him personally with "un
specified falsehoods and distortions."
It's not often that a candidate will show
such sympathy for his opponent. Of course, in
order to truly represent his constituents,
is capable of an awful lot that we hadn't
thought possible."
In almost all areas of life, Buck says, most
people ignore their instinctive reactions and
thus totally miss a great deal of joy.
"An awful lot of what might be classified
as neuroses and symptoms of mental illness
may be just signs of making full use of your
human capacity."
But, ironicallly, Buck seems to deempha
size the importance of counseling the
very medicine that might help us handle
daily hassles and the effects of the calami
ties of the past 25 years that Buck believes
have exhausted our culture.
Other than the economic turmoils of the
last quarter century, it has been a period
scarred with the brutal assassinations of the
Kennedys, and Martin Luther King, youth
rebellions, urban decay and crime, Viet
nam, Watergate, the Hostage crisis . . . the
list goes on.
"Within a quarter of a century, you've had
these wrenching events . . . forcing, chal
lenging, calling into question much of what
we thought of as the American way."
It would be hard to deny that we're living
in a weird age; it does sometimes feel that
our society is at a turning point, a watershed
where the life we hold so dear may eventual
ly slip from our hands.
"The ends of centuries tend to be periods
of romantic stirrings both in terms of the
future as well as the past. It's also the end of
a millenium, the end of a thousand years."
• • •
V GETII:XT RZEf. Rae. 0 sca eiite:iizm mois*
.55% OF THE
COKEmERinTOKE
thi.TAKE/
Cunningham had to give a copy of his "per
sonal" letter to Rudy to the press so the voters
could know what she is up to.
Never mind the fact that these "reports"
are mere unconfirmed rumours about Rudy's
campaign! Cunningham challenges Rudy to
cite an instance in the past that he has
practiced unscrupulous campaign tactics,
and then in the same breath denies her the
same opportunity. So much for courtesy!
While we're on the subject of unscrupulous
campaign practices, I would like to cite just
one example of how Cunningham has used
such tactics in the past. Four years ago, when
he narrowly defeated incumbent Helen Wise
for state representative, he and Wise partici
pated in a debate sponsored by the State
College League of Women Voters at the
Fairmount Elementary School.
Toward the end of the debate, Cunningham
accused Wise of voting with the democratic
leadership in order to gain certain "perks."
Cunningham stated that Mrs. Wise had been
rewarded for her loyalty with a plush, private
office and a personal secretary.
Not only did Mrs. Wise and her husband
emphatically deny her ever receiving such
"perks", but anyone who visited her office in
Harrisburg could clearly see that she shared
a small office and one secretary on the top
floor of the Capitol with at least three or four
other state representatives! Let the voters
decide, Mr. Cunningham, if the above exam
ple constitutes unscrupulous campaigning!
Finally, I challenge Cunningham to publiih
the "stricter standard of campaign practice"
that he is abiding by. The "so-called oath" to
which Mrs. Rudy has committed hersef was
probably established by some inconsequen
tial boy like the Federal Elections Commis
sion. Imagine a candidate lowering herself to
such unscrupulous standards as that!
I'm sure Cunningham's standard is much
higher than hers, since he alone just hap
pened to hear rumours that she is planning
personal attacks, and his letter just happened
to fall into the hands of the press and he just
happened to send out a mass mailing which
wraps him in a hunting jacket with his good
buddies Dick and Bill, which just happened to
But completely irrational reactions to
these social explosions tend to backfire.
Generally, Americans tend to assume a
romantic view of the past.
Buck sees that kind of nostalgia as harm
ful if we let it seep into such areas as public
policy. An example of this romantic longing,
Buck and I agree, was Ronald Reagan's
election to the presidency.
Buck senses, as I do, that Reagan may not
change your life, but he may convince you to
grin and bear it. Especially when he reas
sures you that the best is past.
"Reagan is somewhat of an ideologue,
something of a romantic . . . I think that like
much nostalgic activity, it frequently lacks
long-run strength, long-run contact. I think
that many people who voted for Reagan,
and voted for this whole perspective,
wouldn't vote for it again."
But the reasons many people might not
vote again for Reaganomics are economi
cal, not mystical. With the highest post-
World War H unemployment and more than
17,000 businesses going under just this year,
Reaganomics is an example of how irratio
nalism, pure and simple, fails in public
policy and in every facet of life.
Buck foresees a new romanticism shaping
up in our society that has its ugly side in the
form of a new militarism. Men in uniforms
might be worshipped again.
These new wars that we're having now
are not popular (the Falklands and Leb
anon), (but) I think war is . . . getting a new
legitimacy.
"I don't think we've forgotten the horrors
of war, but we're looking upon war as more
acceptable . . . There's a reason why we
should be justifiably edgy on this nuclear
business because if war becomes more
acceptable, then the danger of nuclear war
increases."
~r
/~~ ~ l
But if a new intellectual synthesis is to be
born it will not be conceived in Academia.
Buck understands that universities lag be-.,
hind society because they tend to reinforce
the status quo. It remains for those outside
of academia to found a new Dark Age that
may be an exciting epoch to be part of.
Or we could ignore this opportunity and
perhaps give birth to the wrong kind of Dark
Age.
Eugene M. Grygo is a 12th-term journalism
and history major and the managing editor
of The Weekly Collegian.
The Daily Collegian
Wednesday, Sept. 29
hit the mailboxes of his district on the same
day his unethical letter hit the press.
These practics may have fooled a slith
majority in 1978, Mr. Cunningham, but like a
good referee the voters are sure to yell foul
and flush you out the second time around on
November 2nd!
Victor E. Dupuis, Penn State alumni, class of
82
Sept. 28
=Collegian
Wednesday, Sept. 29,1982 01982 Collegian Inc.
Phil Gutis Paul Rudoy
Editor Business Manager
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